Month: October 2013

I have been learning so much personally about clean eating and have been making baby steps, so to speak, about food choices in our pantry and fridge. Clean eating is a lifestyle that can lead to preventing diseases, remove icky toxins from your body, lose weight and just feel better. The biggest challenge is just getting started and knowing what to replace with food items you have always used.

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Fall is not complete without a visit to the pumpkin patch. Although, my oldest did not go with us this year….he is not as excited as me anymore. boooo. Having moved here to AZ from the beautiful northwest makes fall pretty different. No changing leaves and apples and sweaters and boots here. But there are farms so off we went to enjoy the season in a new way.

Schnepf Farms was on my bucket list to visit so we chose this for our pumpkin patch fun. They had a ton of activities! We spent 3 1/2 hours there and we got tired out before we could do everything. We did the hayride, 2 corn mazes, petting zoo, jump pillow, swings, roller coaster, slingshot game and kettle car races. Palm trees at the farm was a first for us. It seemed strange to us northwesterners. They had a few food booths, but honestly I was a bit disappointed by the lack of pumpkin and apples dishes…like none. darn.

We had a blast. Weather was good and I for sure want to come back sometime to visit the farm bakery and u-pick fruit and veggies.

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I have an afternoon snack around 2 or 3 pm. Something with protein, for sure, to keep my hunger in control and give me the right nutrients.

A group of us mamas were talking the other day on our private Healthy Mama. Happy Living facebook forum about healthy snack choices. In the moment of hunger is when it’s the hardest to make a healthy choice. So it is a good idea to have several ideas ready when hunger strikes. Especially ones that you can take with you.

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It took me less than a week to fully unpack my house when we moved in a few months ago. Seriously! My secret? I had already purged a TON of stuff the year before. A year and a half ago we were preparing for our US RV Tour and had to go through each and every thing we owned. Even our paper files. That was hard! We were downsizing like a crazy family to see what would fit in our 37 ft bunkhouse 5th wheel and what would fit in our 5 x 10 x 10 storage unit.

I know most of you are not going to have that lifestyle choice pop up BUT I did learn quite a bit from that major purge.

Most of all, I love how much more simple life feels.

There is less to take care of, less to clean and gives us more time as a family. Before, I felt stressed with the visual clutter.

Simple just feels more peaceful.

I followed 5 basic steps to clutter-bust and tame the stuff ::

1. Empty

I went room by room, space by space.

For example, when I worked in the bathroom, I did the cabinets together and then the drawers together.

Completely empty the space of everything! This gives you a clean slate to work with.

2. Clean

Now that it is clear you can clean the space. Wipe it down, get rid of the dust and dirt.

3. Sort

Now it’s time to deal the the stuff dumped on the floor in a pile. Take the time to sort and downsize. This is the time to decide how many rubber bands, shoes, tubes of toothpaste, tupperware…(you get the idea) you NEED.

Make 3 piles : garbage, donate, keep.

I did not completely purge my entire house at one time. I actually went through everything twice in a year. This allowed time to make decisions on items that I didn’t know the answer to.

The first time, if I could not decide right away that I wanted to get rid of it or keep it, then it went in the keep pile.

I found with the second purge, the decision was easier.

My son has cloth bins for his toys that go on the shelf. For him, we dumped the bins and took one away. Then we said the toys had to fit in those. It was easier for him to make decisions on what to keep and what could go.

4. Organize and Container-ize

Next, you need to organize the keep pile. Put like items together in a way that makes sense for you. I love using bins! They go on sale often and are easy to store things away. I put some of the toys in the closet to play with at special times. I put seasonal clothes in bins. The dollar tree has some great items as well! I organized my entire bathroom with bins from there.

5. Reassemble

Time to put it all back. Personally I love seeing SPACE between the stuff. It brings me peace. lol

Have you ever de-cluttered your entire house? How did you do it? Any new tips?

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I have gotten so many questions and emails since I posted about how I earn money from home. So many other mamas just like me are wondering how I did it through blogging and social media marketing, that I have decided to host a free webinar!

I want all mamas to have the opportunity to be at home with their babies, help out with family expenses, pay off debt or whatever your dream may be. If you are at all interested in earning an income from home while blogging, using social media or even local events, then I invite you to hear my story. What I do is not for everyone…but what if it is for you?

I am inviting you to get a peek into my story.

Live, Thursday, October 3 at 8:30 PM CDT

I will be sharing my personal story of facing cancer and getting my health back.

I will be sharing how I paid off $15,000 of debt, which allowed my husband and I to travel for 6 months with our three boys.

You will get to meet some of the women I work with and hear their stories and what it is like to work with me and our marketing team, Project Dream.

Live, Thursday, October 3 at 8:30 PM CDT

Register HERE to watch and listen live or email me to get the recording. [claireshealthyhome(at)gmail(dot)com]